Chris Graythen/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- In an exclusive interview with ABC’s Pierre Thomas on Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder expressed concern about the president and his workload.

“I worry about him sometimes, you know, because he’s the one guy who can’t get away,” said Holder.

“He’s a serious person, he takes these matters extremely seriously,” he continued. “I think he understands how this wears, has the potential to wear people down.”

Holder noted that Obama still is “the same guy that I think he was four years ago.”

Thomas asked Holder if the president is his friend, his colleague, or his boss.

“He’s all of those things,” Holder answered.

As the government’s top prosecutor, Holder is expected to maintain some distance from the president and his aides to avoid the appearance of politics affecting the Justice Department’s legal decisions.

“There has been a distancing because as attorney general, I have to be independent,” said Holder, before noting, “I look forward to the days when we can just be Eric and Barack again and hang out.”